Protective masks have been used for sometime in both civilian and military applications. These protective masks are designed to protect the wearer from nuclear, biological, chemical agents, fumes, aerosols, gases and airborne contaminants. Hence, it is extremely important that the mask be properly tested to ensure that it will protect the wearer from these life threatening agents. One known system for testing protective masks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,009 which is incorporated in its entirety herein.
The present invention is an improvement of the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,009. In particular, a preferred embodiment of the present invention allows a single headform to be used to test two different types of mask seals, e.g., face seal protective masks and neck seal protective masks. Another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention allows a vacuum to be pulled from two different locations about the protective mask while the protective mask is mounted on the headform. A further aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is the elimination of pockets or folds formed when the protective mask is mounted on the headform prior to testing of the protective mask. The formation of one or more folds or pockets when the protective mask is mounted on the headform is extremely undesirable as a leak in the portion of the mask in which a pocket or fold is formed may go undetected by the test system. One type of mask particularly susceptible to the formation of one or more pockets or folds when mounted on a headform is a neck seal protective mask. A preferred form the present invention provides air under relatively high pressure to blow out any pocket or fold formed when the protective mask is mounted on the headform followed by the protective mask be subjected to a relatively high vacuum so that the protective mask is formed to the headform with out any folds or pockets.